


plum island

by chensung



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Making Out, Strangers to Lovers, chenle n jaemin are just tipsy is all, kind of, mini time skips bc i am lazy, slight underage drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 23:57:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15400434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chensung/pseuds/chensung
Summary: Somehow, during an encounter with a boy that was too pretty to be real, Jisung managed to get himself invited to a college party where he meets a particular tipsy purple haired boy who tastes of alcohol and strawberries.





	plum island

**Author's Note:**

> title is from a waterparks song pls listen to it i love waterparks (i reposted this btw hehe)

Jisung almost couldn’t recognize himself. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, staring into the reflection of the wonders Jaemin had done to him. Black eyeliner delicately lined his eyes with small wings that were barely noticeable but still there, his lips were a gradient colour of pink and hearts were on his cheeks with blush.

“Where did you learn to do this?” Jisung asked in awe, leaning closer to the mirror to admire the makeup that Jaemin had so carefully done for him.

“I accidentally signed up for makeup classes instead of dance classes and decided to stay, it was really interesting.” Jaemin casually sat on Jisung’s desk chair, one leg hanging over the armrest while he shoved popcorn into his mouth.

Jisung turned back to look at him, “How do you accidentally sign up for makeup classes?”

“How do you accidentally invite yourself to a college party?” Jaemin shot back instantly.

“None of your business.” Jisung replied, he stuck out his tongue teasingly and sat on his bed. He didn’t even know how he ended up with an invite to a party on the other side of the city, from a college he never heard before. All Jisung knows is that somewhere during an encounter with a boy too pretty that he might’ve been a fairy, he somehow rambled and stuttered his way into getting an invite to this party that was supposedly going to be huge.

“You’re lucky Mark isn’t here because he wouldn’t let you go to that party over his dead body.” Jaemin scoffed.

“I’m also lucky that my amazing friend Na Jaemin won’t be informing Mark about this party as well?” Jisung said, voice full of hope.

The older only shook his head with a grin and motioned for Jisung to stand up, “If you manage to get someone’s number, I won’t tell him.”

Jisung stood, “Challenge accepted, Na.”

“Oh, where did my timid baby boy Jisungie go?” Jaemin faked worry as he walked over to the younger, pulled his face into his hands and inspected him dramatically.

“He’s meditating.” Jisung struggled to push Jaemin’s grip away without having him ruin his makeup. “He’s also really good at hiding his discomfort of the makeup and stopping the urge to rub his eyes.”

Jaemin finally lets go of Jisung, “You get used to it. Now go change and we’ll get going, by the time we get there, we’ll be fashionably late.”

Jisung resisted the urge to roll his eyes and made his way to the washroom to change into the outfit he and Jaemin spent a long time putting together.

  
Just as Jaemin said, they were a bit late to the party, empty plastic cups already started to litter the front lawn of the house that blared pop music at a ridiculous volume that Jisung felt like he could feel the ground shake even from across the road. But the night was still young, chatter and laughter filled the air, along with yells and sounds of people screaming along to the lyrics of whatever song was playing.

Everything about it made Jisung’s heart pound in his ribcage as he thought about why he was even in this unfamiliar place, about to be surrounded by unfamiliar people at an unfamiliar party. After a few days of nothing but pure excitement over his first party, the “oh my god, am I really doing this?” had finally set in his gut and made his head spin.

Jaemin noticed Jisung’s silence and turned to stare at the younger, he was about to ask if he was okay when Jisung spoke in a rush of panicked words.

“Jaemin, this-this isn’t me, I can’t go in there.” Jisung gripped the older’s wrist tightly, he stumbled back a bit at the overwhelming thought of the party.

“But you’ve been so excited to come,” Jaemin unravelled Jisung’s grip and laced their fingers together in an attempt to comfort him. “I know that if we turn back now, you’re gonna say you regret not making your way through those doors. Why don’t we go in for at least 15 minutes and if you decide you don’t like it, we can leave and play league of legends for the rest of the night at my place?”

“Y-yeah, okay. That works.” Jisung stuttered but nodded his head affirmably.

“That’s my boy. Do you remember my one rule for you?”

“Get someone’s number, yeah I know.” Jisung tried to start their way to the house but his and Jaemin’s interlocked hands pulled him back, the older rooted in his spot.

“No, you buffoon. Absolutely no alcohol. The only thing I’m allowing you to drink in that house is water.”

“Fine, whatever. No alcohol, that’s cool, I bet it tastes like ass anyways.” Jisung rolled his eyes, he lightly bounced on his heels, “Now can we go inside before I chicken out and fake cry so you pity me and we leave early?”

Jaemin couldn’t hide his smile as he pulled Jisung across the road and towards the party that was blooming of youth. “I won’t leave your side at all, young grasshopper.”

“What a shame.” Jisung sarcastically replied. In all honesty, he was beyond relieved that Jaemin offered to come along because aside from the obvious problem that Jisung didn’t understand bus transit, he didn’t know how he would’ve been able to cope with being surrounded by strangers without Jaemin to grip onto for a sense of security.

Every step closer to the house made Jisung feel lighter and lighter, the moment they stepped through the door, a rush filled Jisung’s heart and it was different.

“We should look for the boy who invited me, let him know I decided to come.” Jisung yelled over the music into Jaemin’s ear. He didn’t tell Jaemin about the part of his meeting with the pretty boy where he stared at him with such a longing gaze that it made Jisung’s heart clench, where pretty boy brushed his cheek with his soft yet firm hand and said it’d be upsetting if he didn’t show up.

“Do you know his name?”

“I can’t remember, it started with an L though.”

“Then what does he look like?” Jaemin yelled in response.

Without thinking, Jisung replied, “Really pretty.” Immediately, he shook his head and felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment as Jaemin let out a loud laugh. “He’s really tall, tan skin with really pretty lips and wide brown eyes that are pretty.”

Even though Jaemin didn’t say it, Jisung knew that he was thinking about how there was a lot of really pretty boys here, dancing in the living room, making girls swoon, making jokes with friends who had plastic cups in their hands.

“How tall are we talking? Will he stick out like a tree?” Jaemin asked.

“He’s taller than I am so I’d assume so.” Jisung bit his lip, he scanned the room and almost didn’t notice Jaemin’s astonished look until his face came into his peripheral vision. “What?”

Jaemin shook his head, “I didn’t know it was possible for someone to be taller than you.”

“Just shut up and help me find him!” Jisung whined, shaking Jaemin’s arms with his hands.

“Let’s look elsewhere because I don’t see any pretty trees in the living room.” Jaemin grabbed Jisung’s wrist and gently pulled him through the crowd.

Jisung wouldn’t voice his worries, especially to Jaemin but he feared that pretty boy would see them before he saw him, that he would assume he and Jaemin were a couple and not have as much interest in him. So he pulled away from Jaemin’s grip under the impression that his neck was itchy and made no movement to let the older guide him again.

They made their way into the kitchen, where Jaemin had reached into a cooler and pulled out a beer can. Pretty boy wasn’t in sight so Jisung smacked Jaemin’s hand, grabbed the beer from him and teasingly dangled it in front of him.

“Absolutely no alcohol.” Jisung mocked Jaemin’s voice.

Jaemin laughed and made no effort to reach for the can again, he watched as Jisung carelessly tossed it back into the cooler and dug around until he found a plastic bottle of lemonade. Upon reading the label, there was probably more alcohol than actual lemonade in the beverage and Jaemin was about to tell Jisung this until the younger let out a loud gasp and started to bolt out of the kitchen.

Jisung momentarily made eye contact with Jaemin before he exited the room, he mouthed “pretty boy” and smiled, then continued to follow after the tall figure. Jaemin just sighed and opened the bottle, he leaned against the wall with a hard look so no one else would attempt to talk to him. He was at this party for one purpose and that purpose was to protect Jisung. With pretty boy around, Jaemin thought he no longer had a purpose.

Meanwhile, Jisung pushed through the crowded rooms until he made his way back to the living room where he saw the pretty boy go. Sure enough, there he stood by the door, in black ripped skinny jeans and a muscle tee, exposing his nicely toned biceps and thick thighs.

For a moment, Jisung felt paralyzed, “What if he’s waiting for me to enter?” A lump began to form in his throat and his heart pounded in excitement.

He forced his body to move one leg in front of the other, to make his way toward the pretty boy who had his bottom lip between his teeth as he kept gazing at the door every time it opened. Jisung’s heart fluttered and he was so glad Jaemin somehow made him agree to enter.

Few feets distance from pretty boy and Jisung thought he had made eye contact with him but he quickly diverted his eyes elsewhere as the door opened once again. The boy’s eyes lit up and another boy stood at the door with a wide smile. Entered a shorter boy with dyed grey hair and blue eye contacts, wearing a purple pullover sweater and plain skinny jeans.

Jisung abruptly stopped. He stood and hopelessly watched as pretty boy embraced the shorter into a hug, just as Jisung decided to piece together a bit of hope that they were simply friends, they kissed. At that moment, it felt like there was no one else in the world other than him, pretty boy and the boy he just kissed.

Tears burned in his eyes as he finally turned away from the two. He managed to hear one thing from them before he roughly pushed his way back to the kitchen.

“Thank you for giving me another chance, Lucas.”

  
Jisung didn’t make his way to the kitchen, the small hall that led to the room was crowded and excited cheers flooded the room so he decided that wasn’t the best area for him to be in.

He pushed his way past people, not caring about the groans, gasps and shouts of those he bumped into, he just needed to be as far away from Lucas as possible. Jisung found himself upstairs, in a washroom while cupping his hands under the running tap water and gulping it down. He began to wonder if the 15 minute compromise Jaemin suggested was still available.

Jisung gripped the edges of the sink and stared into the mirror, at his ridiculous makeup he thought would impress Lucas, at the band tee of some American band he didn’t know that he thought would impress Lucas, at the skinny jeans he wore that he cut rips into with scissors because he thought it would impress Lucas. All these changes to himself, all the hours he spent daydreaming of Lucas, only to have his heart crushed at the sight of him kissing another boy.

There was a small crash at the door that startled Jisung’s gaze away from the mirror. He whipped his head and the doorknob wobbled.

A boy with purple hair stumbled into the washroom with a small giggle. “Silly.” He said to himself.

Jisung stood straight and rubbed his palms on his jeans. The two boys stared at each other for a few seconds in silence before Jisung broke it.

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll leave.” Jisung’s voice sounded so tiny but he would overthink that later, once he’s found Jaemin and pulled him out of the party, once he’s cried into Jaemin’s shoulder about how a boy he barely knew had broken his heart.

“No!” The boy yelled, he stretched his arms and blocked the doorway. Jisung was startled at the sudden outburst and apparently the stranger was too because his eyes widened. “No,” he said more gently. “Were you crying?” He asked.

Jisung figured this boy was drunk, from his rosy cheeks and a happy glint in his eyes that never seemed to leave even when he gazed at Jisung with worry. He figured there was no harm in telling him the truth.

“I guess I was about to.”

The boy stepped forward and closed the door behind him, he locked it and opened his arms for Jisung. “Hug your hurt away.”

Jisung hesitated for a bit but decided again, there was no harm in this. He inched closer to the boy and wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist as he felt arms around his shoulders.

“What’s your hurt, heart boy?”

It took a moment for Jisung to realize he called him heart boy because of the hearts on his cheeks but when he did, he decided that he liked the nickname.

“Heartbreak,” Jisung whispered. “A boy I thought I like kissed someone else right in front of me.”

The boy giggled, “Heart boy has heartbreak, that’s no good.”

“No, not good at all.”

There was a slight foreign accent laced in the boy’s words that was prominent even when he would slur some words together. It was admirable to Jisung. He hugged Jisung tighter and nuzzled his head into Jisung’s chest.

“Chenle also had a heartbreak. Chenle really loved a girl but the love wasn’t permitted. She moved to a different country and it tore Chenle’s heart into pieces.” There was sadness laced in the boy’s voice as he spoke but it was quickly replaced with happiness, “But all heartbreak heals!”

Jisung pulled away and stared at the boy, tilted his head in question.

“Spoiler: I am Chenle.” He whispered like it was a groundbreaking secret.

“Jisung’s heartbreak seems significantly smaller than Chenle’s.” Jisung replied dully, he felt like his heart was hurting for Chenle and his heartbreak.

“No, heart boy. All heartbreak is the same and all heartbreak gets well with time.”

“Do you miss her?” Jisung asked, his arms were still placed on Chenle’s waist and Chenle’s arms were still around his shoulders but neither of them made a move to pull any further away.

Chenle giggled and booped Jisung’s nose with the tip of his finger, “You’re cute, heart boy. I do miss her but it’s not a sad way, I think of her and I get happy. The joy of our love is more important than the heartbreak of us being separated, even if our love was short.”

Jisung decides right then and there that Chenle was probably the best person he’s met in his entire life.

  
Somehow they ended up lying in the bathtub, Chenle’s back against Jisung’s chest as their fingers interlaced, Chenle absentmindedly played with Jisung’s fingers from time to time. They talk about everything that came to mind and talking has never been so easy before, words flow out of Jisung’s mouth that made Chenle laugh like it was the only thing he was made to do in life.

“Do you believe in soulmates?” Chenle asked; a question that made Jisung’s heart feel like it was turned into stone.

“I don’t know, Chenle. I don’t think I believe in that kind of stuff.”

“I do! I think a person has multiple soulmates, it could be their best friend or their significant other or even that person in your class who always gives you notes. Soulmates don’t always have to be romantic, they fill your life when you need it and they can come and go.” Chenle rambled, Jisung had already noticed he does that a lot, especially when he’s talking about something he enjoys.

A question sat templated on Jisung’s lips, “Do you think we are soulmates?” but he couldn’t gather the courage to speak it out loud, so he just lay there with a racing heart while Chenle continued playing with his fingers in silence.

“You have bassist's hands.” Chenle finally spoke, he spread Jisung’s fingers open and placed his hand against his, comparing their size difference.

“I-I do play bass, how did you know?”

“I told you, heart boy, you have bassist's hands,” Chenle replied and Jisung could just hear the smile in his voice. “Do you think you could play for me? I think the bass sounds lovely.”

“Yeah sure, let me just pull my bass guitar from my jean pocket.”

“No!” Chenle laughed, his body vibrated with laughter and it made Jisung’s heart swell with love. “My friend Renjun is in a band and his place is not that far from here. We can walk into his garage and you can wow me with your bassist skills.”

Jisung gulped, felt his heartbeat start to pick up a little as he stared at the ceiling. Chenle, a strangely happy boy with purple hair who believes in soulmates, who he met not even 20 minutes ago has suggested they go somewhere alone together just so Jisung could show him his bass skills.

“Are you sure? I mean, you’re a bit drunk and I get lost so easily like you would not believe, I’m almost accident prone and I don’t want to be the cause if you get hurt in any way or even lost, it’s dark outside too and I don’t even know if we’d have permission to go--” Jisung rambled about his worried until Chenle stopped him.

“Don’t worry, heart boy. I’m not that drunk, okay? Just because I’m just a tiny bit of a lightweight it doesn’t stop me!” Chenle sat up and made his way out of the tub, “And besides, Renjun loves me too much to deny me from entering his precious garage.”

“Are you sure?” Jisung repeated again as Chenle reached out his hand to help him up.

“Yes, 100%. Now, are you gonna accept my help up or not?”

Jisung pursed his lips as he thought for a moment before he grabbed Chenle’s hand to accept his help out of the tub as if he wasn’t fully capable of doing that himself.

“Let’s go then.” Jisung smiled at Chenle.

There was a tiny bit of sadness that came when Chenle let go of his hand once he fully stood out of the tub but Jisung pushed that aside and decided to ignore it. There were many things running in his mind but the loudest one was about how it felt like their hands just fit together. But Jisung shoved that thought into a mental box and he opened the door for Chenle.

“Ooh, a gentleman.” Chenle giggled.

Jisung thought that he likes making Chenle giggle and laugh. It might be his favourite thing to do.

Just as Chenle was about to step outside, he gripped Jisung’s shoulder and stood on his tippy toes to place a gentle kiss on Jisung’s cheek. The smell of alcohol mixed with strawberries was almost intoxicating to Jisung and could probably put in in a trance if Chenle’s bright smile hadn’t brought him back to reality. He mimicked his smile and hoped the heat he felt rushing to his cheeks wasn’t too noticeable.

  
The two weaved their way through the rooms and bodies, Jisung following closely on Chenle’s heels but that probably wouldn’t be very necessary as Chenle’s purple hair stuck out most in the crowd of natural hair colours.

Jisung started to think what Chenle would do if he stopped walking and if he let the people between them form a gap between him and Chenle. Would he notice? Would he keep walking? Would he turn around to find the sight of him again? Just as quickly as the worries flooded his mind, Chenle’s small hand reached to grab Jisung’s and he lightly tugged him, all without looking back to make sure it was Jisung.

“Stay close.” Chenle yelled over the music, still not looking back but squeezing Jisung’s hand. Jisung squeezed his hand back as an answer and they continued to push their way to the front door.

The floor was booming with the bass from the speakers and shouts filled Jisung’s ears, his heart was still pounding in his chest from the close proximity of all the people but feeling Chenle’s hand in his somehow made it all bearable, like it gave him oxygen when he was underwater. And Jaemin was the only other person who could make him feel this way.

Jisung’s eyes widened as he remembered Jaemin, how he left him in the kitchen while he went to go look for Lucas, how he didn’t even know where he was while he sat in a bathtub with Chenle. He was worried that Jaemin would leave him for another boy but that is exactly what Jisung had done to him instead.

“Chenle, w-wait.” Jisung tried to speak but the loud music overpowered his voice and drowned it out. His eyes darted around the living room, trying to find Jaemin in the crowd, trying to see if he could find any boy with the same shade of pink Jaemin had.

It wasn’t until Chenle pulled Jisung outside the front door that he realized he was hyperventilating, struggling to catch his breath and struggling to organize his thoughts.

“Jisung, what’s wrong?” Chenle gasped, he let go of Jisung’s hand and it only made Jisung’s mind race that much faster, he felt like he lost the sense of security.

“My friend,” Jisung said between breaths, “I left him.”

Chenle stared at him with worry and clearly didn’t know how to help the panicking boy, “Just take deep breaths, okay? Once you’ve calmed down, I’ll go look for him.” Chenle’s hand rested on Jisung’s back and he guided him down the empty street to someplace quieter. Chenle was slightly panicking at how Jisung was panicking but he didn’t want to let him know that so he kept on walking, doing breathing exercises with him and reminding him he was okay.

The two found a bench near a bus stop and Chenle gestured to it silently. Jisung nodded and they both sat down, Jisung still taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm his racing heart. They sat in silence for a while, Chenle’s hand rubbing circles into Jisung’s back while the younger took his time in balancing his breathing.

“Can you talk?” Jisung asked, he felt tears starting to brim his eyes, he felt terrible for leaving Jaemin at a party.

“About what?”

“Anything, everything, just talk to me.” This was something Jaemin did when Jisung felt anxious, he didn’t even need to know why Jisung was upset, all he needed to know was that keeping Jisung distracted was the best thing to do until he was ready to talk.

“Of course, yes, okay.” Chenle nodded, he took a quick look around at their surroundings; large houses with dim lights lined the street, the chilly air that came from a spring night, the distant laughter down the road towards the party they just left, the stars in the sky that are surprisingly shining brightly.

The stars.

“I really like the stars, I like the idea of them a lot. It brings light when there shouldn’t be light, they shine so bright on nights and gives me hope that even my darkness can have light from a star. I’ve been looking for my own star for a long time, I want to be someone’s star too…” Chenle continued talking about the stars as he fiddled with his thumbs, staring up at the sky, keeping note of Jisung’s presence beside him, words filling his head to say to Jisung.

As Jisung’s heartbeat finally began to slow to normal after hearing Chenle’s words, Chenle’s heart began to race.

Everything about Jisung seemed so overwhelmingly perfect. It was his first month in a strange city, running away from the responsibilities and fear back home, feeling nothing but empty and alone ever since he landed, even with Renjun, the overly friendly pizza delivery boy who was in a band, opening his home and arms for him, he still felt so out of place. Tonight was his first night leaving his apartment for something that wasn’t snacks and he somehow wandered his way into a college party, had two shots of something that burned his throat but also made his mind feel a bit lighter and crashed into a washroom door and then meeting Jisung, the boy with hearts on his cheeks and teary eyes. The boy who had bassist hands and a sudden heartbreak, who loved listening to him ramble about nothing, who wore edgy clothes that didn’t fit his personality at all, who didn’t believe in soulmates and was nervous for Chenle when he suggested they go to a place alone.

Chenle could tell Jisung had a huge heart, could tell that he was timid and nervous but had his mind in the right place. He had only seen the surface of Jisung and his personality but he was already so intrigued in the boy that he never wanted to leave his side. But Chenle wouldn’t call it love, not yet, he’s had bad experiences with declaring love quickly. He’d call it an infatuation at most. An infatuation he wasn’t afraid of.

“Are you alright now?” Chenle asked, he tore his eyes away from the stars to Jisung, who stared at him like he held all the wonders in the world. There was innocence in his eyes, pure admiration and simplicity that made Chenle just a teensy bit nervous. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

Jisung just smiled in response and shook his head, “Can we look for Jaemin now? I feel really bad for leaving him so suddenly, he must be worried.”

“Of course, heart boy.” Chenle stood up and offered his hand to Jisung once again with a smile. Every bodily contact the two had made Chenle’s head spin and he had trouble deciding if he liked it or not. “Ask him to meet you at the pool out back, yeah? If he wants to, he can come with us to our destination.”

  
Several texts and slow steps later, Jisung and Chenle sat crisscross at the edge of the pool, which was covered. Chenle’s head rested on Jisung’s shoulder as he continued to play with his “abnormally large but pretty hands” as he called it on their walk over.

They sat in silence, the sounds of the lively party and each other’s breathing filled the night air. Chenle could feel the effect of the shots he drank earlier starting to wear off and despite the warmness of Jisung’s presence beside him, he still craved for the tingly feeling of the alcohol again.

“Did Jaemin get your texts?” Chenle asked, hoping to avoid the sudden craving.

Jisung anxiously bit his lip as he unlocked his phone again to check if Jaemin read his messages, usually, he would reply in less than a few minutes but it’s been over 10 since he sent his first text to him. Everything he sent had remained unread.

“No,” Jisung replied, his voice cracked and was full of worry. Jaemin would respond to his texts in seconds as if his life depended on it, what made tonight any different? “I think he’s mad at me, Chenle.” Tears started to brim his eyes as he stared hard at the “Delivered” beneath his last message.

“He couldn’t be, please don’t think that.” Chenle’s head shot up, he immediately wrapped his arms around the boy and pressed his cheek against Jisung’s shoulder. “If you want, I can go in and look for him, pull him out by his ear if I have to.”

Jisung let out a small laugh, “Will you? I don’t feel like going back in there.”

“Anything for you, heart boy.” Chenle pulled back and booped Jisung’s nose again, “What does he look like?”

“He’s about your height and has slightly pink hair, wearing a pink heart choker too. Na Jaemin.”

“Na Jaemin, pink hair, pink choker, got it.” Chenle pushed himself off the ground but crouched in front of Jisung before he made a move to step away, “Your makeup is quite cute so please don’t cry, he’s fine and I’ll come back, I promise.” He fought the urge to grab Jisung’s face and kiss him, he placed his hands on his knees to stop that action.

Jisung nodded and put a struggling smile on his face, “I’ll be waiting here, or maybe over there where the chairs are because my ass is starting to hurt.”

Chenle giggled and before he could think twice, he leaned over and lightly kissed Jisung’s nose, “You’re cute, heart boy.” Ignoring the way Jisung’s cheeks heated up and the way his eyes widened, Chenle finally stood and started to walk towards the back door that led into one of the living rooms.

He felt a bit nervous about leaving Jisung alone in the backyard and he couldn’t understand why, Jisung was old enough to take care of himself, it wasn’t Chenle’s position to shield Jisung from everything. Knowing these things did nothing to settle the uneasiness of leaving heart boy sitting alone by a pool when he could be sitting there with him.

Regardless, Chenle had to find Jaemin and lead him out to the back so he and Jisung could talk. So that’s what he set his mind to do, pushing past the crowd that appears to have doubled in size, he hoped to find a pink shade of hair amongst the dancing bodies but as he scanned the living rooms and the front lawn, he couldn’t find anyone who was wearing a pink heart choker.

Starting to fear that he’d have to start barging in the upstairs rooms, Chenle shoved his way into the kitchen, partly hoping Jaemin would be there, mostly hoping to find another shot he could down to ease his nervousness.

The room was surprisingly less wild than the last time he was in, just a few people in their own respective bubbles, either talking or making out with someone. Chenle let out a sigh and moved towards the island table that held all the alcohol, the two shots he was given was poured by some girl he couldn’t be bothered to get the name of but she seemed to know what she was doing. His eyes scanned the bottles and decided it probably wasn’t the best to drink out of something that was already open, Chenle reached over and grabbed the last unopened bottle just as someone else did, their hand rested on top of Chenle’s.

Chenle immediately looked up and was met with a stranger, one with green highlights than Chenle thought was hideous. Call it petty but he decided that he didn’t like this stranger because of his hair and stared at him, hands gripping the glass bottle in a way to say he wasn’t gonna be the one to let go.

“I grabbed it first, let go.” Chenle said.

“Are you even old enough to be drinking?” The boy asked.

“Why should you care?” Chenle furrowed his eyebrows, he tried to tug at the bottle but the stranger was stronger than he looked as their hands didn’t make any movement at Chenle’s attempt.

“Jeno, give them a break, you’re not even old enough to drink.” Said an unknown voice, they obviously sounded bored. Chenle gave Jeno a sarcastic smile when he pulled his hand away, Chenle knew damn well that he wasn’t gonna drink the entire thing but having the stranger retreat his hand made him feel a bit cocky. He opened the bottle and was about to take a drink when Jeno spoke again.

“You know, you need to lighten up sometimes, Jaemin.” Jeno said.

Chenle’s head whipped up so fast upon hearing the name Jaemin and there he was, standing with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against a wall with bored eyes and that pink heart choker around his neck that Jisung had mentioned.

“Na Jaemin?” He asked unsurely, just to make sure even though he had already fully decided that was Jisung’s Jaemin.

Jaemin’s eyes hardened when they landed on Chenle, he raised an eyebrow silently asking what he wanted.

Chenle’s mind raced as he noticed Jaemin’s bright red lips, hickeys littered his neck around the choker he wore and there was a crappy attempt of finger combing his messy pink hair that stuck out everywhere. Jeno looked the same and it clicked for him.

While Jisung had been having an anxiety attack over Jaemin and his well being, Jaemin was making out with some boy with gross green highlights. Chenle felt anger bubble in his chest, he was so close to yelling at Jaemin but instead he took a deep breath and pressed the bottle to his lips, he took a quick swig before shoving it to Jeno’s chest.

“Jisung has been looking for you for half a fucking hour. If you care enough to see him then follow me, otherwise stay here with Jeno and continue to suck his face off.” Chenle didn’t recognize how deep his own voice was but he didn’t care, his mind burned with anger and he didn’t look to make sure Jaemin was following him as he roughly shoved his way to where Jisung was sitting, waiting with so much hope to see his best friend again and waiting to let apologies spill from his mouth like a waterfall.

The image of Jisung sitting criss-cross, eyes full of the same innocence that Chenle saw after he talked about the stars, an endless amount sorries sitting on his lips ready for Jaemin’s ears to hear made Chenle more upset but only made him walk faster to the backyard.

It wasn’t until Chenle saw Jisung sitting on one of the lawn chairs by the pool that the anger inside him washed away. The younger had pulled another chair beside him and he stared up at the star and cloud-filled sky with nothing but admiration. It made Chenle’s heart swell.

“Heart boy!” Chenle called out, a smile already on his face, one that only grew larger once Jisung’s eyes settled on his with a happy look. Chenle didn’t want to look back to see if Jaemin decided to follow him or not but he already knew what he’d tell Jisung if he didn’t and he knew it would hurt him.

Jisung gestured to the empty chair beside him, “Did you find Jaemin?” He asked with so much hope laced in his voice.

“Uh..” Chenle turned around and sure enough, Jaemin came stumbling down the small hill that led to the pool, he knew that it would make Jisung happy but still, a feeling of upset overtook his thoughts. “Yeah, he’s right here.” He hid his upset tone with a smile and pointed at Jaemin, who seemed to be mumbling to himself.

Jisung jumped from his seat with a kind of smile that he never gave Chenle and he ran to Jaemin, calling his name which made Jaemin smile back and open his arms in return.

No amount of self-assurances could empty the jealousy that burned in Chenle’s stomach, he sighed and sat in the chair Jisung pulled from the patio just for him. He didn’t want to hear the apologies Jaemin didn’t deserve to hear so he toned them out and gazed at the stars, their words made way to Chenle’s ears but he made no attempt at registering them, he figured it was a private conversation anyways.

Somewhere between Jisung’s sad voice and Jaemin’s slightly aggravated one, Chenle dozed off.

  
A hand that shook Chenle’s shoulder is what awoke him from the sudden nap he fell into. Chenle’s eyes barely opened and above him was the night sky, he felt he was on hard plastic and panic fled into his body.

“Lele?” That familiar timid voice drowned out any panic Chenle had.

“Jisung.” Chenle turned and saw Jisung sitting on the ground beside him, eyes wide and slightly bloodshot. “Are you okay? What time is it? How long was I asleep?” Questions left Chenle’s mouth all at once as he moved to sit in front of Jisung, slightly nudging his chair away to do so.

Jisung gave a melancholy smile and grabbed Chenle’s hand, he interlaced their fingers and answered all of Chenle’s questions, “I’m doing better, it’s about three in the morning and you were asleep for fifteen minutes.”

Chenle rubbed his eye with his free hand and noticed Jisung’s plastic chair was thrown on top of the pool cover, “What happened?”

“Jaemin was a bit drunk, he got mad at me for leaving him and he started crying, he’s sort of an emotional drunk. Then I started crying because I don’t like seeing Jaemin cry and he asked if he could trust you to take care of me, I said yes and we hugged and made up.” Jisung’s voice was gentle and soft, his eyes cast down at their intertwined hands which tugged at Chenle’s heart.

“You trust me?” Chenle’s voice was tiny but genuine.

“Of course,” replied Jisung in less than a heartbeat. “Jaemin went to go buy pizza with Jeno and said Jeno will take us all home after we eat.” Jisung finally looked Chenle in the eye, “But if you want, I could tell them we’ll go to your friend’s place instead and I can show you how cool I am will my bass skills.”

Chenle chuckled at his words and pressed his forehead against Jisung’s. “Anything you want is fine with me, heart boy.”

“I want to be anywhere with you.” The younger whispered, the heat of his lips radiated against Chenle’s skin and made him feel a warmth that no amount of alcohol could ever give him. Chenle couldn’t help but gaze down at Jisung’s lips, parted so slightly and strangely inviting. There was nothing more he wanted at the moment than to close that small gap between them and kiss the living daylights out of Jisung.

A quick glance up and Jisung’s eyes had shut, “Kiss me, Lele.” Their close proximity had made Jisung’s lips brush against Chenle’s when he spoke. And Chenle had done just as Jisung told him to.

Chenle’s hands had moved to Jisung’s cheeks on instinct and Jisung’s arms wrapped around Chenle’s shoulders. They embraced each other as their lips moved against each other slowly, slightly shy but full of so much confidence at the same time like there was nothing else they’d rather do in the world than sit on the grass in some stranger’s backyard and kiss until their lips were bruised and their hearts exploded.

Kissing Jisung had made everything around Chenle suddenly become quiet like the world was nothing but darkness that stood still and held its breath for this perfect moment. Every small movement Jisung made was suddenly louder than anything else, the small sigh of content between their kisses, his arm moving from his shoulders to his waist, their noses slightly bumping into each other and the quiet giggles that left Jisung’s mouth. The warmth of Jisung’s lips pressing against his filled his body with so much affection and made his heart pound in his chest.

Nothing else in the world mattered than having Jisung this close to him, having him trust him so much regardless of their short time of knowing each other. Everything seemed so perfect, almost like the missing piece of Chenle’s life that he’s been so desperately trying to find has finally shown up and he’ll be damned if he ends up losing it.

“You’re smiling.” Jisung whispered, he pulled away but not so much that their lips still touched when he spoke.

“I was thinking about how lovely you are.” Chenle’s eyes remained closed but he could imagine the blush that rose onto Jisung’s cheeks, which only made him smile wider.

Jisung scoffed and pushed Chenle away. Chenle opened his eyes and laughed at the younger’s bashed reaction and like he predicted, a rose tint was present on his cheeks and even reached his ears. He tried to hide his embarrassment with stutters of “Shut up, you’re so lame, why would you say that.”

Chenle tilted his head to the side and he gazed at the boy who looked the other way, slightly panting from their kiss. The smile on his lips never faded just like his racing heart never calmed down.

“Jisung,” Chenle said, he waited until Jisung looked at him and hummed in question, “Let me take you on a date tomorrow, we can go anywhere and do anything you’d like, it’s all on me.”

Jisung raised his eyebrows and mimicked Chenle’s tilted head, staring him straight in the eye, “What if I asked you to take me to Paris?” Obviously, Jisung never would, he wouldn’t accept this offer from anyone as it was too much but he found it fun to tease Chenle.

“Then I’ll take you to Paris.” Chenle said without hesitation. He laughed at Jisung’s reaction, eyes nearly popping out of his head and head shaking while a large variety of ways to say ‘no’ spilt from his mouth. Chenle placed his hands on Jisung’s cheeks and leaned to press his lips against the younger’s to quiet him. It was a quick and chaste peck but it silenced Jisung’s sudden word vomit. “You’re so cute.”

Jisung let out a loud sigh and pressed their foreheads together again, his eyes shut as he talked “Take me rollerskating and then take me somewhere that will tell me more about you, a place that’s special to you.”

“You’re a place that’s special to me.”

“Shut up!” Jisung gasped, his cheeks started to burn again and Chenle laughed.

“I don’t think I can ever get enough of making you blush, you’re absolutely adorable.” Chenle pinched one of Jisung’s cheeks and the younger laughed while making half-hearted attempts at swatting his hand away. Chenle gently rubbed Jisung’s cheek to sooth the pinch and he realized that his heart blushes were gone. “What happened to your hearts, heart boy?” Chenle slightly tilted his head again.

“Lele, I was crying, red and black streaks were down my cheeks and I looked monstrous,” Jisung pulled away and pointed at the pool, the plastic chair had moved the pool cover around it which revealed part of the water of the pool. “I struggled to throw the chair into the pool to wash my face.”

Chenle couldn’t help the giggles that left his body, he thought of Jisung, who was too tall for his age, having trouble with picking up a lawn chair and pushing it into a pool.

“What?” Jisung whined, a small pout formed on his lips, “Those chairs are heavy! I had to roll them down here from the patio and even then, it was hard.”

Suppressing even more giggles, Chenle cooed at Jisung and pecked his lips once more, “I’m not teasing you, heart boy, I just find you adorable.”

“Am I not so unbelievably cool and handsome, though?” Jisung said, purposely deepening his voice but his pout remained.

Chenle smiled, “Of course you are, baby.” Before Jisung could protest or push him away at the nickname, Chenle placed one of his hands at the back of Jisung’s neck and pulled their lips together.

Having Jisung immediately melt into Chenle whenever they kissed was something that Chenle was sure he’ll never get over, Jisung was like putty in his hands, following Chenle’s lead and letting him decide where the kisses went without complaint. The younger’s hand rested on Chenle’s knees and he couldn’t help but notice how they slightly shook, if it weren’t for Jisung’s subtle enthusiasm of kissing Chenle, he would’ve guessed he was nervous.

But even the way they kissed showed just how much Jisung trusted Chenle and it made his heart ache in the weirdest way. However, the joy and warmth that came with Jisung’s closeness overpowered the strange ache he didn’t understand and all he could think about was Jisung.

One of Chenle’s hands moved to grab Jisung’s and he guided him to his hair, Jisung made no hesitation and began to twist and gently pull at Chenle’s hair, mindlessly running his fingers through his purple strands while Chenle smiled into the kiss.

He moved his hand back to Jisung’s other hand and laced their fingers together. Chenle thought he could honestly kiss Jisung until the air ran out of oxygen, until every last star in the universe burned out, until the early morning skies of oranges and blues replaced the night sky.

They pulled back when they felt the urge for air and Jisung knew he could go back to kissing him soon but the disappointment of having to stop still set in his stomach. The two sat in the same position, legs crossed, one of Jisung’s hands in Chenle’s hair, one of Chenle’s hand at the back of Jisung’s neck and their free hands intertwined on Chenle’s lap. None of them made a move to pull away as they took breaths and took in each other’s presence.

“You taste like strawberries.” Jisung spoke softly, “If I could, I’d kiss you until time ran out.”

Chenle couldn’t help the smile that played on his lips upon hearing Jisung’s words. “Me too, heart boy, you really have no clue.”

Jisung opened his mouth to say something but the buzzing in his jean pocket stopped him. “Must be Jaemin.” He sighed and pulled his hand from Chenle’s hair to grab his phone but leaving their hands intertwined in Chenle’s lap.

As Jisung unlocked his phone to reply to Jaemin’s message, Chenle found himself playing with Jisung’s fingers again. “You have pretty hands.” Chenle absentmindedly said.

“So do you, Lele.” Jisung replied, he was clearly busy with typing his response one handed but his voice still conveyed truth and attention. Once he locked his phone, Jisung looked up at Chenle and tilted his chin up so the elder would look at him, “Jaemin’s out front with pizza, Jeno will probably park somewhere and we’ll eat, where do you wanna go afterwards?”

Chenle didn’t need to think for more than a few seconds to find his answer,

“Anywhere with you.”

 

 


End file.
